April 1, 2016 “Twice Fooled”

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God'”. (Psalm 14:1)

Good Morning Everyone!

That’s it…I’m done! (April Fools)! This is that dubious day of the year for pulling pranks, hopefully of a lighthearted nature, on unsuspecting family members or friends. When they fall for the trick, they are greeted with a hearty shout-out from the trickster…”April Fools”. I understand that it is all in fun, but scripture provides us with a much more sobering definition of a fool in Psalm 14. The Psalmist begins by writing, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'” Next, we are provided with a description of the acts of the fool: “They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.”

Perhaps some of you have held the opinion that there are deniers of God who have done good things. Maybe they have been kind to their parents or to a neighbor. Maybe they have contributed to a charity. Don’t those acts represent some measure of “goodness”? Not according to God’s Word. Remember how the apostle Paul himself wrote in Romans 10:3 “Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness”. God’s righteousness and our perception of righteousness are polar opposites.In fact, Isaiah referred to our perceived righteousness as being nothing more that “filthy rags”. Without a true belief in God and the One he sent, Jesus Christ, it is impossible to please God.

Theologian Soren Kierkegaard had something wise to say regarding foolishness when he wrote:

“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”

The fool who says in his heart, “There is no God” is twice fooled. He or she believes in that which is not true while refusing to believe in that which is true. Don’t be fooled into thinking that living a good life apart from a belief in God will put you or anyone else in good standing on the great Day of Judgment. Don’t fall for Satan’s perennial “April Fools” deception. The only righteousness we have is that with which we are covered when we come to know Jesus Christ for who he is…our Lord and our God. Let’s pray!

Only You alone are holy, O Lord. Cover our sin through the cleansing power of the redeeming blood shed for us on Calvary, that we might become ‘the righteousness of God’. This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!